he discusses the growth of executive power in american government. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is next. host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal." congress gets back to work after a two-week vacation. the focus is on the hill. we want to talk to republicans. for your thoughts on john boehner -- later on, democrats -- we will ask you for your thoughts on harry reid. if you are on eastern and central time zones, the numbers are on the screen--

you can also reach out to us online.

>> i'm calling about john boehner. but him not bringing up the extension of our unemployment benefits before the two-week recess for easter, i am appalled by that. not bringame he did this up for the people who need the jobless benefits. i think is a shame that the president cannot do anything about it. why do you think you didn't bring that bill up before lawmakers went for recess? caller: it is paid for, i don't know. what he wants.im i just think he wants to hold all of us hostage and make

everybody suffer. from "theory now washington times. oh he contends his reelection bid, quote won't even be close." this is quoting john boehner. kaiser, west virginia, larry is on the line. caller: i think john boehner has done a very bad job and i think he should be replaced. host: who should he be replaced with? caller: i'm not really sure.

someone hi who's more conservative. they should cut back on the spending programs. sunday's "the " --ington post let's go now and listen to a bit of that response. >> i don't know whether we will get to it this year or not. i think we should, but the appetite amongst my colleagues for doing this is not real good. this guys back here with the camera. here is the attitude. oh, don't make me do this, oh, this is too hard. you should hear them.

we get elected to make choices. therewhat you saw actually was john boehner speaking in his home district in ohio. certainly, an issue that he is looking at very closely and some in his caucus have discussed quite a bit. "washingtont a post" article. if you are in eastern or central time zones, the number is20 --

that's take a look at one of the stories making headlines this morning. of "usaom susan davis today."

that is in this morning's "usa today." let's go to a tweet now from carol old. she writes next up in philadelphia, pennsylvania. ed is on the line. i don't know why boehner does not stay on point. can't trust the president. see what he did with the health-care law. he picks and choose what he wants to enforce. why on earth should we do anything until we get a new leader? someone that we can trust who is going to uphold the law. so does eric holder. he does the same thing. look what happened in philadelphia with the black panthers. was on tv about the banking system, how no one has been prosecuted, and blaming

republicans. hello? why are people blaming the republicans for what wall street does, when it is eric holder --host: host: we will leave it there on that one. >> four or five years we have had and it minister is new in washington that thinks that everything can be done from the top down, the stimulus to obamacare. republicans, we have kept our pledge, and we have offered a new way forward third our majority in the house has made your priorities are priorities. every week we're focused on passing initiatives that would make it easier to find jobs and create jobs at places just like his. we are ready to improve job-training programs so workers can acquire the right skills.

expansion of american-made energy to lower cost. opening markets for smaller manufacturers and repeal and replace obamacare. the president said he wanted this to be a europe bipartisan action. well, it still can be. while republicans may be the minority party in washington, with your help, we have made some headway. we have banned earmarks and, for the first time since the korean war, we have cut total spending for three years running. taken the politics of student loans, making it easier for students to pay for college. we have past three free-trade agreements that of artie had dividends for our economy. they stop treating our economy like a second language and start putting jobs first. that was house speaker

john boehner speaking in this week's republican address. here to talk about the issue is robert hoffman, national political reporter for "the washington post. good morning. boehner has always had an easy rapport with his colleagues. he rose quickly up the leadership ladder. i think because of the current turmoil in the republican party where you have really seen the battle the tea party, a against the elected leadership. i think boehner is in the middle of that. he is a fellow with a conservative record, but he is a veteran lawmaker. he is not one of those young, tea party lawmakers. he is trying to manage the more conservative weighing with some of the wishes

of the older members. earlier in the program we showed a clip where boehner says that he plans to run again. have you heard anything about a credible challenge to a house speaker -- the house speaker? there was an attempted coup in 2013. yet about a dozen republicans challenge him on the house floor. surprisingly strong political capital with in the house after the shutdown last year. he has actually bolstered his relationship and those who could challenge him by kevin mccarthy, the whip, or eric cantor, they're not eyeing to challenge at all. is by theovement people who did the coup attempt

, just in a mosh of michigan. -- justinying to run amash of michigan. distills the tensions around immigration in the house right now. boehner is a member of the roman catholic church. he has met with cardinals of that church to talk about immigration. he is sympathetic to those who want reform. on a personal level, his politics lean in that direction. he believes there should be compassion for those in a jeb bush way. i think boehner is in that school of the gop, he comes from that perspective.

most people who are in his conference in the house gop are very skeptical of president obama and the commitment to border security, should any kind of deal be struck. boehner is always battling against that skepticism and where it -- and wariness. think that john boehner will be able to compel more members of his caucus to get behind substantial immigration reform right now? is a slightnk there opening. his comments certainly indicate that he is willing to do something, that is open to doing something, but it would have to come in the summer, and it would always be delicate and in an election year. i think nader captured it with his comments that this is an election year and a lot of conservatives don't want to do some kind of major bipartisan legislative package. one more question for you

on john boehner. you mentioned the government shutdown. what has changed about the way republicans look at john boehner from that point until now. guest: before the shutdown, boehner was seen as someone who is willing to deal with the president, perhaps too much from a conservative you. he was in the trenches for an ideological agenda from some of his critical colleagues in the house. the fact that he allowed the shutdown to happen, that he didn't shut it down, that he didn't clamp down on it early on but let it play out, that really raised an eyebrow by many on the andt and surprised them endeared them to gain her in a way they hadn't been in years. he's probably in a better position now than he has been in a long time. joining us this

morning, robert. we are talking about house speaker john boehner this morning. let's go to peggy here in washington dc. i am also a national reporter in congress for a magazine that covers immigration. i think it is really important to distinguish to the press between comprehensive and piecemeal immigration reform. the house has passed five really good piecemeal immigration bills. everything from e verify to visas for foreign students. we are even talking about legalizing dreamers. they call it the kids act. immigrationushing reform. it isn't just about legalizing

everyone that is here illegally. it is about lots of other issues . ,he house has passed five bills has passed six really good ones. to put those together in a package. democrats want all or nothing. they want competence over nothing. i think it is important to also tighten some of the blame for this roadblock on the democrats, who are not willing to compromise on the millions of people who are here illegally host: is it host: is there any blame for him? blame forere is some lead republicans who don't want

them. senate,h is, to win the which is the republican party's , the 10ortant goal target states, none of them have a significant latino vote at all . host: let's go to a couple topics. our next caller is in pueblo, colorado. billy is on the line.

boehner is weak. he is obama junior. he is sizzle without substance. the problem on this immigration stuff is that one out of three don't even have a high school diploma. bring me your high school dropouts, you know, are you going to do a show on harry reid and fairness? or is this the mecca of the low information voter. i would like to know that. thank you. host: later today in the program we will be asking democrats only for your view of senator harry reid. alabama.to huntsville, anita is on the line. caller: high, how are you doing? for whatever reason, i don't know what changed him, it seems like he's been a little more vocal about the issues in his party and how things need to be

addressed. i don't think it is just republican party. i think it is the house as a whole, the senate as a whole. everyone there seems like no one wants to do it they are elected to do. to think it is a good thing that speaker boehner has been more vocal about issues in the cardiac oh caller: i definitely think it is a good thing, because a lot of times you hear them bickering like two and three-year-old children. no one really knows what is going on. clear that a very lot of people do want to make the hard decisions, a lot of people don't want to sacrifice your seats. so let's go with something that .s a little less serious

personally, i don't have anything against people coming to america legally. it is the legal part. you cannot sit here and say where someone is coming and doing something illegal that you can find a way to make it legal. that is a slap in the face of all the people who put in applications and wait six months to a year just allow people who come over here and jump a fence or however they get into country to allow them to stay. i think it is ridiculous that it is even a debate at this point. i think we need to secure the borders. everyone who is here illegally at this point needs to be sent back. there are people who are waiting who have doneally the paperwork and pay the price. this is a slap in the face to allow those who have come over here illegally to even stay. another story making

headlines this morning. is talking a lot about the situation in the ukraine. over the weekend senator bob "face the nation spoke about obama. let's hear what he had to say. >> i think these targeted sanctions against individuals or not affecting who tends behavior -- are not affecting president clinton's behavior enough. last week the redline was demobilizing the troops that are on the border that aren't are intimidating people inside the eastern ukraine. now it is just him not going in. advocating, as many people have, carl levin was there a day after me, a democrat, as you know, was also advocating that we begin hitting a breeze within russia to further destabilize the economy. their goal, russia's goal,

inside the ukraine, is to destabilize the country and delegitimize elections that taking place on may 25. over time, he can achieve his goals without actually sending troops in. he has little green men, black , fomenting inside ukraine. people are not yet with putin. it is amazing. the only information that people are getting is from russia. it is only russian speaking news that is occurring. over time, continuing to do it is doing, he can do without actually sending people in. again, i think we need to put sectoral sanctions in place. i think we need to move those troops away from the border am a change behavior, and i am very concerned that as we have seen from this administration and some a tough issues, their policy is always late. after the point in time and we could've made a difference in the outcomes.

senator bob corker speaking over the weekend. says the united states will levy new sanctions monday on russian individuals and companies in retaliation for moscow's alleged revocations in the ukraine -- provocations in the ukraine. the targets of the sanctions will include high-technology transports to russia's defense. officials are expected to announce a full list of targets on monday. those are expected to include wealthy individuals close to president putin. next up is michael in brooklyn, new york. we would love to hear your thoughts on house speaker john boehner. caller: good morning.

i think that policy could bring the u.s. another war. warhould prevent another from this great country. thank you. go to keith in fargo, north dakota. caller: i don't like john boehner. to me, he is kind of crooked. he is like ronald reagan when he got a hold of jimmy carter's campaign promises and used them against him. foreigners, i went to and undermine foreigners coming over here. take united states citizenship test.

that is hard to do. if you pass it, then you must the ship back to wherever you came from. she was from bosnia. host: call from tennessee, harold is on the line. caller: speaker boehner is the worst of all time because he's putting politics before country selling to keep his people in line. you going way too far areas only have to do the right thing. if he were to show some leadership and do the right thing, i would have more respect for him. other than that, he should probably resign or retire. host: another story

from capitol hill. he faces multiple charges connected to a restaurant business he operated before entering congress. he spent most of the weekend .unkered down "the washington post. oh your view of john boehner. -- on your view of john boehner.

we would love to take your comments again on twitter. we are at c-span wj. of president obama's asian trip. president obama celebrated america's closer ties with the muslim majority nation of malaysia on sunday.

that would've been 1966, not 1996. another story in the post this morning.

one more campaign story for you this morning. this comes from this morning's "washington times."

again, our topic is your view of speaker john boehner.

. why don't you talk first a little bit about how john boehner is viewed back home in his ohio district? boehner ise speaker supported a lot here, especially in butler county. of the is a largely republican area. it is one of several counties thisare -- that make up area. it is heavily populated and is always had support here. host: is anyone coming out to challenge him given the time tumult? he is challenging john

and he is backed by the tea party. actually, he has some money thrown in. he is also supporting his campaign from a national tea party leadership. there are two other candidates that are also tea party, yet they are not really coming on strong. they didn't get the support from the national tea party. host: what kind of fundraising are you seeing in that race in guest: rict? guest boehner has a lot of money in his kitty. egg has not done any real advertising, tv ads or anything like that that john has

done. he is largely gone with youtube for some of his ads. so far, neither of these candidates are particularly catching fire in this district? winteregg thinks he is. he is from troy, ohio. of course, butler county has the largest voting block in the eighth district. host: earlier in the program we played the clip of speaker boehner taking comments on immigration. what is the responsiveness comments back in ohio? i haven't heard a whole lot about that. of e-mailsen a lot saying he is an idiot for saying things like that. those things are coming from two-party people who don't like john's stance on immigration. they want all or nothing on

that. sheila mclaughlin, i'd like to know some more about the politics of the district. the politics of the district are largely republican. if you look at the races that john has run in the past for the eighth district, the democrats up in his anything area. host: thank you so much for joining us this morning. juana. hank sure speaker boehner staff knows we well.

i've called them several times in recent months. for some reason, john boehner seems to think that people on unemployment are lazy. actually, it is the opposite. we are given payments because we are given payments because the last of jobs through no fault of our own. months, andeen four .andlords still want their rent utility bills still wanted to payments. every month you don't pay your bill you get a penalty charge against you. gas is four dollars a gallon. go don't even have money to searching for jobs, which don't exist in the area where i live. to end quickly, i'd like to say that john boehner truly has made me feel like he has turned his back on me as an american. i really believe that he has really made me feel that way.

his demeanor when i watch your , i get a feeling from him that he just thinks there are two americas, the wealthy inricans and it is all theory, and the reality of us who are living in the economy. food in the last couple of thats has gone up so much you literally try to figure out how you're going to squeeze out $10 to go buy food that you're going to eat for the next three days, and that is it. gas is going up. it is just ridiculous. i don't personally dislike mr. boehner, and he knows that, but i dislike everything about him. thank you very much. gaithersburg, maryland. sue is on the line. sue, are you with us? caller: yeah, thank you for

taking my call. i'm disappointed with dinner because of the immigration issue. i think we need immigration enforcement, not immigration reform. there is absolutely no reason that we should be allowing all of these illegal aliens to come in and take our jobs. i met one issue voter this time. i'm independent and my issue is immigration. if republicans don't wake up to what is happening with immigration, they're going to lose everything they now have, which is pretty tenuous. what should house speaker boehner do instead? make a i want him to blanket statement that there is no senate immigration reform package taken up in any piecemeal on any level, and that the only thing we're going to do as a nation is protect our borders and protect our sovereignty. full to came into this country illegally, you know what? i am sorry that you did that,

but you don't deserve to be here. you need to be deported, you don't deserve to have children in our schools. you don't deserve to be in our hospitals, and you certainly don't deserve to be tapping into that of, which is entitlement, is something we pay for every week out of our paychecks. we need to get back to being a country of law and order, a country that if you don't work you don't need. let's stop being a nation of open borders and opel welfare states. the guy to just called you, there is no reason you can't get out to work. if he does that money for gas and he can take the bus or he can do stuff online free at the public library. story, this one from "political." o."

next up in saint albans, new york. kate is on the line. caller: i disagree with his policies. change you asuld public policies in u.s.. caller: john boehner is in a tough spot. he was elected to -- to help straighten out the government, less taxes and less government.

i am from pennsylvania. he is lying about not having any money. maybe you should have to give up his cable bill. he's looking for jobs, he is for a lot of things in immigration bill. we have had a ton of bills, laws, already on the books. i just can't lay here for you to get somebody on here. reid, let's talk about his lies. even the president. you can't believe him anymore for anything he says. thanks very much. just as a reminder for our viewers, we will ask democrats are calling to give their views on senate majority leader harry reid. your thoughts on

speaker house painter. have nothing really against john boehner. -- my, isocrat, but i that it is not john boehner, it is the people. immigrationng about understand, your neighbor that lives right next to you, what is difference between that person and the one living in afghanistan? there is no difference. they are our sisters and brothers. those people come across the border looking for a better life for themselves and their families and redeem and eyes them. we should love them just like we love ourselves. and we don't. people are just hateful.

there are so many hatreds against one another in the united states. we should find a solution where we can all get along and do well. we should love our neighbors, that is what the bible tells us to do. we claim that we are christians. we are not. neighbor, --our host: a couple more tweets this morning. last caller for this segment is in greenville, ohio. you are up. mr. boehnermet approximately 25 years ago when

he was first wet behind the ears as a congressman. actually, i went to a fundraiser in middletown, ohio. foundhe years, i have john boehner to be a responsive individual when we called with concerns. he had his staff worked to help ,s in any way they could perhaps i found him to not always be as conservative as i wanted him to be. i still think he is a top guy. issue, i lovetion all people. i have nothing against any one individual nationality. i do feel that to protect our , procedures should be adhered to. those who have been waiting in line to become citizens in a

legal way, should come before those who have come over here illegally. that is all the time we have in this segment. later on, democrats we will ask your opinion about senate majority leader harry reid. we will be joined by jeff mason . frankne goldmacher buckley will join us to discuss the use of american power. we will be right back.

>> this night, we take a step, a positive step. the people watching us, mr. speaker, on television tonight, and reading about the congress tomorrow, and seeing that we were able to act, not perfectly, but in a bipartisan fashion, to try to take a step towards fiscal responsibility, fiscal stability, and yes, caring for those who most need our help in this country. colleagues, asmy a leader of my party in this congress urged us, to support this legislation.

that is a democrat, not as a republican, but as an american who understands that our people believe that action is necessary. i would urge all of us as he closes debate, to do so anyway that brings us together, not drives us apart. that reaches out to the best in us, not to the partisan speaker, it is time for this congress to come , andher, addresses issue act together. and passes bill. i yield back the balance of my time. [applause] yearse highlights from 35 on our facebook page. today as a public service by your local cable

provider. washington journal continues. host: in this segment, we will discuss the week ahead for congress. joining me is jeff mason. he's a congressional correspondent. can you give us the highlights of the big things you're watching from president obama's it is been anest: interesting trip for him. the president has made a point of saying in press conferences that it was not about containing china. he went to four different countries. he went to japan, malaysia, was recently the philippines, and he also made a stop in south korea. a lot of people have been watching it as a china containment tour. the last thing that happened in the philippines this last up, announced --tates

is been interesting watching him deal with that. obviously, china and u.s. have an important relationship. the allies in that region are worried about the rise of china as well. lawmakers are returning after a two-week vacation. i wouldn't look for whole bunch happening, at least this week or over the next two months. thomas is beginning to debate spending bills for the coming year. that is the actual legislating that is going on. artief the legislating is gearing towards the november elections. maisie big one for primaries, both in the house and senate. mitch mcconnell faces is primary in may. there's a couple of feet once and senate primaries.

of the biggest races is in idaho this month, as well. how big of a role as a 2014 elections? is completely overshadowing everything that is happening on capitol hill. the other things that are happening are messaging votes. democrats are going to be talking about trying to hike the minimum wage. they have almost no chance of coming into law this year. that is what they're going to be talking about. a contempt vote for lois lerner. they want to hold her in contempt of the house. they won't say look, we are listening to, we are outraged, two. he's going to be quite a

figure in these 2014 races. have we seen the white house telegraph anything in that manner? absolutely. it is affecting virtually everything that is going on. you hear more and more talks in the white house about raising the minimum wage. there's a loting of effort and time into the fact gettingre is no chance pass on capitol hill. he is pressed really hard for democrats to campaign on the success, so far, of the affordable care act. we will possibly see a bit on immigration, as well. democrats running in primaries against the democrats, they are to talk about their love of the affordable care act. what are we hearing from

the white house about? guest: i think the white house is very proud that they got up to over 8 million people enrolled. it exceeded expectations from outside pundits, from lots of analysts, and they're very happy to trumpet that. there will be another enrollment. coming up later this fall. right now to have to worry about getting their next health and human services secretary confirmed in the senate. that is something they will be working on now. you try to encourage democrats and citizens in states on the country to see the benefits of , and not to focus on the crummy rollout that was last year. if you'd like to join the conversation for republicans, the number is

i think we should talk about what will happen on the hill. the bill passed the senate and they said we will not be taking this up. instead, you will have democrats pushing them to try to take it up. the speaker has said two different groups outside of washington, to the donor community, he wants to do something on immigration, but the reality is he will not be doing something on immigration, at least not a comprehensive bill. his own membership does not want. a lot of it is trying to build a coalition at some point in the future to get a republican

majority to take up the vote in the house. it does not look like that is going to be happening in 2014. host: we played john boehner's comments. tell us about whether or not you have heard it a brush back on that. of the things one of the father you get from washington the more comfortable sums bakersfield speaking their mind. you feel better about being more honest. basically, mywere membership, they don't want to do anything big. is interesting juxtaposition that he can be very different. he happened to be the very hard right of his conference. he does month of bills coming to the floor this year, either. have the pace to possibly take the senate majority. when is his big things, he is talking about bipartisan big things.

are we hearing from the white house on immigration? people expect the president to do something in the realm of order about deportation. this administration has a record , despite the clear interest that she has. he campaigned on it in 2012. pushed aistration has lot of undocumented immigrants out of this country. the white house has ordered a review, jeh johnson is working on that right now. we can expect some results on in the coming weeks and months. what exactly that is is unclear. the president has said despite using executive action and lots of other areas this year, he hasn't really indicated he is willing to do something really big on that very i think we can expect to see something in addition to that. you will see some pushing from the white house, hoping that

maybe they can get some love from john boehner and others in the house, or some kind of legislative package, which is really important to the president's legacy. the president has shown just enough skin. the white house has really not been after him. 2: what do not do so that you can actually achieve something on this issue this year without closing doors, but also showing that you're doing something that is serious? host: our next call comes from salt point, new york this morning. she is a democrat. i was calling in regards to this house vote on the unemployment extension.

and a standard immigration is important, but i think that a lot of people in new york and other states in the united states really need this extension. unfortunately, we have not been able to go on vacation like you folks. son is this open to happened we people can go back to our lives? your blaster homes, families about to move other places, because we cannot afford to keep them. one of the big issues looming over this congress is the fact that long-term unemployment insurance expired in january, and the senate has taken up the issue. the house is not shown about issue in -- interest in doing this. as is a legislative purgatory where things tend to end up when they are not moving and going anywhere. 2: again, as shane says,

you have to willing partners in congress to make that happen. we have another caller on the line for republicans. caller: i think boehner is missing the point about illegal immigration. whining aboutt how the white house and democrats are doing a bad job, he missed a huge opportunity when the mexican government actually published an official document on how to cross the border illegally. republicans should have house on pounced onuld have that. it is just a matter of money. so much money these illegal immigrants cost us. do is open up the dialogue with the mexican government and get them to pay for their own people, and also other governments. i don't see why nothing has been

done to support that view. i'm not familiar with the document you're talking about. the lawsle feel like are not strict enough to prevent people from coming across the border. he can't get the on that. if that is a problem and you can't fix that, then discussion over. 2: i think for security is a big part of the package. certainly, the white house is .alking about it is important for them, for the president to try and get bipartisan support for that package. a big chunk of that in terms of appealing to republicans and probably to the callers well is boosting border security. i want to talk about the

keystone pipeline. the state department talked about a delay of that issue. our politics behind what is g?ppening yucca guest: 2: the truth is, most people think politics are playing a big role here. putting off this decision does give democrats, at least particularly the president praised some time and motivation on an issue that they feel very strongly about. does shirts and democrats, which shane can talk about as well. overall, is an issue that is very important to environmentalists, too young

people who are very critical in getting obama elected. you have seen demonstrations in washington and elsewhere across united states. streets. people in the it doesn't matteris, carrying st keystone. many people think this decision served as a way of getting up to base before the 2014 elections, which as the president often mentions, midterm elections are not always great for democrats because democrats do not always come out and vote. this may help them do that but it may hurt the democrats as well. the challenge for democrats is they want to get their vote. if he rejected it, you will have a lot of democratic activist feel excited. but if you reject it, you put a lot of energy state producing democrats and others from the south, mary landrieu, particularly prominent in the energy arena, mark pryor, mark

begich, who has no really immediate impact on the pipeline, but he is sending the message to swing voters. thise do not think election is about swing voters. he is playing it off because [no audio] wasronmentalists thought it positive although they would have preferred to have a rejection, no question. industry saw it as negative but they also saw hope in the fact that the administration did not just use the opportunities to eject the pipeline. they have had plenty of opportunities to eject it. the fact that they are letting it stay open like this is a good sign. claudia is in greensburg, north carolina. on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i was calling to check, i know

the houses coming back into session today. are they going to discuss the extended unemployment? 60-someeen working for years, and i think they should take that into consideration who are people representing that. we need help until we are able to find jobs. it is pending in the house but they are not looking to take it up. eric cantor sent out a memo to all the members at the end of last week. the unemployment extension was not a part of the memo. this was not on the front burner. frankly, the reason it continues to come up in washington is folks like you and the previous callers continue to talk about it. it is a concern across the country and they are feeling pressure. who are long-term unemployed are not the politically powerful, the wealthy, the ones not getting

their voice heard in washington. this issue will continue to languish because there is no political movement to push this forward to the point it is. sarah is on the line from burtonsville, there -- maryland. caller: i am a somali-american and a proud republican. i just want to say, democrats compromise, basically. just to get votes, they will do anything just to increase their voters. whether it means to weaken the country, just to weaken the , orervative base outsourcing jobs, i just do not think they are on a path of sustainability. our deficit is through the roof. exceeds our gdp and that is the problem.

i do not think they are concerned about that. not not know if they do care about it but they care about reelection more. side: regardless of which you are on, it is important to say that both parties are interested in reelection. you mentioned the word compromise. that is something that is something we do not see as much in congress and with the white house in the last few years. it will be very interesting to see what happens at the end of this year and in the midterm elections as to whether the balance of power changes on capitol hill and whether that leads to more compromise between democrats and republicans or potentially a democratic white house and a completely agree -- control republican congress. there are two groups at

odds [no audio] the white house had one agenda, the house had one agenda. you talk about minimum wage, the senate will be taking that out. you can guarantee when the president gets to town, he will say something about minimum wage. they want to talk about pay equity. the white house scheduled a big event. the next day, senate democrats are taking a vote on the exact same issue. you are not looking at a lot of compromise. you are looking at people making sure they have a unified line for those fights. host: what are we likely to hear about minimum wage? guest: the house has been clear they want to raise minimum wage. the president has been highlighting states that have done that independently. many of his travels in the used hishe has speeches and rallies to focus on the issue of raising the minimum wage. he says give america a wage does

-- america a raise. it is something he will continue to push. as we were saying earlier, the winner for needs a the base politically, and it is something that they will keep pushing, going into the midterm elections. right, we willis probably hear from the president about that this week. -- shane is right, we will probably hear from the president about that this week. next phone call from california. calvin is on the line for democrats. i just want to know where the concern is for congress making 137 days a year, $170,000, and where is all the coverage? and yet, ior me, cannot tell them to come back to work. 130 days a year?

for aboutke to go on 15 minutes, i know you do not have the time, but that is just for starters, thanks. as the caller mentioned, they spend a lot of time outside of washington. they call it dish it worked periods. quitetrue, they are gone a bit. right now, they are really in the one solid work going to of the year, eight or nine weeks where either the house or senate or both are in session in washington. it is absolutely true they spent a lot of time not in washington. guest: i am sure a lot of them would argue that they need to spend time in washington -- not in washington, in their home district. it is an avenue of criticism that we hear. the president gets criticized when he goes on vacation as well. i'm not sure it is fair to say that all those 137 days are not necessarily vacation. thing, whenther

they are back in their districts, they can do a lot of constituent work. there is not much happening in washington. when they are back home, at least they can help something. host: a related story in "the washington post." they found 60% of americans say they are inclined to look around for somebody else in the midterm elections, including the majority of democrats, republicans, and independents. is congress more or less unpopular? guest: it is always unpopular, but when you look at whether people get reelected, almost overwhelmingly, nine out of 10 people get reelected. yes people are frustrated and they want to shop around, but at the end of day, they go back to the same store and buy the same clothes that they have been buying forever. in texas, the oldest member of congress ever, 93 years old,

facing a a party challenger. he is 90, still kicking out on the trail, but perhaps it is time for another page. he may be retired later this month against his wishes, but he has been there for a very long time. it is gephardt -- it is hard -- it is hard getting rid of members of congress. guest: we talked about the rollout of health care earlier. that has had a negative impact on the president ratings. even on his trip to asia right now, some of that political ph you needm politically and mystically is a challenge for him. i think they see a lot of possibilities this year, despite the fact that they are not getting a lot of support from or his ideas. i think they see an upswing because theust affordable care act is sort of

rebounding, in a big and successful way for them. guest: one of those great washington moments a couple weeks ago, the president talking about the affordable care act, 8 million people signing up, and at the same time in another state, chelsea clinton is doing an event and tells people that she is pregnant. and then people are buzzing, what does this mean for 2016? probably nothing, but it means that people are already looking ahead. that is a problem exercising power abroad. it is a challenge that he needs to look at ahead. guest: it is a challenge being named a lame duck, so early in the second term, but the truth is he has not been able to get much done in congress. if power shifts to republicans in the senate, he does not have that one chamber to wooster his priorities, so it will be very interesting, as we said before, to see how the white house works y completelyiall

control republican congress. i read earlier that he may start to worry too much and give away the store, the issues that they care about. hard to predict at this point, but definitely tricky for the white house, in that they still have two and a half years of governing and they are not able to get much of his agenda done. guest: and the republicans know this. if you have watched the nba playoffs, the team that is ahead and takes the ball and tries to run down the clock. this is what congress is doing. will become a lame duck and the longer they can keep the ball away from him, whether it is immigration or unemployment insurance, they do not want to advance anything, they just want to dribble around in circles and run down the clock. guest: which is why the president is trying to use executive action to prioritize -- advance his priorities.

we saw something on climate change, and we should see more in the next few months. the epa will be setting new standards for existing power plants, a missions of the carbon dioxide emissions, the main greenhouse gas, and that, as we think about his legacy, will be a big chunk, despite the fact that he cannot get much done in congress. host: next phone call is al in pennsylvania. caller: a couple of points about immigration. 7.5 million illegal immigrants are holding jobs in our country. over half of them got the jobs by presentation to their employers of forged social security cards, and then by perjurious as a station on the immigration form that they were able to work in the u.s. the key to immigration reform is to pass copper handset, for ally e-verify

employers, so that illegal aliens cannot get jobs in the united states. then they would not come over. final point. deportation numbers are grossly misstated in the media. over two thirds of the deportations are those people caught by the border patrol at the mexican border, processed briefly by immigration, customs, and enforcement, setback. no previous administration were the sendak's call deportations. deportations from the interior is less than one percent of the total number of illegal aliens in the country, a record low. it is interesting the last point the caller made about deportations. a white house is proud about a story that came out about a week ago that showed over all the statistics are moving in the direction of fewer deportations since 2009 when the front --

president first came in. ify andgard to e-ver employers, that is a big question. making sure and lawyers are punished if they break the law in terms of hiring immigrants, -- undocumented immigrants, but i think you would also here about those millions of people who are undocumented immigrants and hold jobs. they are doing jobs that other americans will not do or do not want to do. that is a critical question for employers and for the economy. what do you do if you cannot find people in, let's say, florida, early to pick fruit -- who need to pick fruit? that is a big question hovering over the immigration debate, one that will need to be addressed. and that is why the business community and congress have been pushing for immigration reform. they need a way to get those

workers in the country. nashville, gary is on the line for republicans. caller: i understand you all were very happy that the white house made the 8 million mark on , but how does the white house feel about the 5 million that were kicked off a private insurance? if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. how can they be happy about anything with the aca when it was all predicated on a lie? there are still more lies to come. let's start by saying that we were not happy but the white house was happy. the evidence is clear about that, in terms of the president's comments, comments by democrats as a result of that. the point that you raise, in terms of people who were kicked off, for sure, that is a critical issue, and a concern for the white house, in addition to republicans and democrats

running for reelection. you have seen the white house take measures to make it easier for those people who lost their plans, to stay on them longer. even those measures have received criticism because of what republicans have portrayed as the ability of the white house to ride over the law and address these problems without actually making the fundamental changes that republicans need. there is the core problem. guest: the president was talking about what the law would mean. he kept on saying, if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. that turns out not to be true, and it is clear from the get go, and it is also true that health care plans change from year to year and get moved around. that said, the white house purposefully kept a line that was for them, politically pernicious, and not as specific as they needed to be. guest: that was troublemaking for them once the evidence

showed that he was not able to keep that promise. it is something that is still dogging him today, as the caller rightly pointed out. woodbridge, virginia. charles is on the line for republicans. for taking myyou call. i am like the previous color of how much time do you have? pipeline, i went online, i was curious. it was amazing to me how many pipelines are already in the u.s.. that is political in asia get people to work. on the unemployment issue, what they need to do is, unemployment for the first 26 weeks is standard. anything after that, you have to pay it back. tongass would pass that in a heartbeat. -- congress would pass that in a heartbeat. you cannot keep a tab running with no way to shut it off. when theseing,

people try to make laws about business, when they have never been in business. if you raise the minimum wage to seean hour, you will never an 18-year-old kid hired, a 16-year-old. coming into work late, being immature, helping them to learn to earn a wage. i can hire an, adult and not have to worry about that. this problem in france, where you have an unemployment rate of youngsters of upwards of 35%. what they need to do is leave that alone. the bottom line is not getting people more money for putting a hamburger at mcdonald's. it is getting the better jobs. in all honesty, if we have farms out there that need strawberries picked and you do not have a job , and these are jobs that americans do not want, sorry, you stop paying people and you will see them work the jobs.

level of the minimum wage, the $10.10, which the white house has said, is kind of an interesting choice because it has a negative impact. the congressional budget office and others say [no audio] will get a raise. at lower levels, it would not have nearly as bad an economic drag, so why did they pick $10.10? i have not figured it out erie maybe it is a catchy figure, maybe it is something that will not go into law, so it is aspirational, but it is interesting they picked a number that has a downside impact. certainly, but they would argue is raising the minimum wage would help create better jobs and would give people more money in their pockets to go out and spend which would help the economy. the president spent a lot of time going to employers like costco that have higher wages

for basic employees and try to say, this has been good for their bottom line, this has been good for their business, good for people working there. that is their argument. it is clear, there are economic arguments against raising it to that level, and that is something that they are not really happy to talk about. they are much more interested in emphasizing the positive. the other point the caller made about keystone is worth discussing as well. the president has talked about the fact that this has become such a big issue for environmentalists and for industry that it has maybe been blown out of proportion by both sides, but it may create some jobs but not a number that industry says. it may be bad for the environment on some level in terms of the climate change impact from taking the oil out of the canadian tar sands, but not as bad as environmentalists say, because the oil will be extracted anyway. there are arguments on both side of the issues.

i think we will continue to hear them for a while. guest: you watch the keystone debate and these folks have been fighting so hard and so long and the issues have been blown out of proportion on both sides, on job impact and environment. comeare so desperate to away with a win. so much time and energy has been invested into this. host: a question from e-mail. sue writes in from new jersey. guest: short answer would probably be no. there is not a lot of anything forthcoming from this congress that is not necessary. it is something the republicans in the house want to talk about. they want to put together a package they can get through their chamber. we mentioned the memo that eric

cantor sent out to the members outlining the next to the new months. a lot of talk about building an america that works, that is their catchphrase. that is very much about creating a jobs package. their goal is to get 218 votes in the house. when they are doing that, they are not looking at the senate or the white house, not looking at making a law, but sending a message to americans who are frustrated. look, the republican party cares about this jobs issue. guest: it is important note, despite the controversies over the other issues we have discussed, the affordable care act, keystone, the environment, the election will almost always come down to the discussion about the economy. you will hear both sides pushing their ideas about creating jobs, minimum wage, as we discussed, but it comes up to that impasse. he will not get a bill passed in congress that either side is particularly happy about in

terms of generating jobs because of the requirements to get support from a bipartisan senate and house. host: columbus nebraska, sean is on the democrats line. caller: thanks for taking my call. ,y concern about immigration the immigration bill, is that republicans might go back to bill, is that republicans might go back to obama's campaign when he said [no audio] thank you for taking my call. guest: the caller is concerned that people -- they will backfire against obama, that he has not been able to do more on immigration. certainly, activists are citing the same argument.

you may promises to us and we are not seeing them get made. in 2012, you saw the president make some choices during the midst of his reelection, in terms of helping the dreamers, who are the younger children of illegal immigrants who came to the country when they were so young and grown up as americans, giving them more options to stay in the country. that ties into whether we could see a negative action on deportations. the truth is, the president would argue that he tried and that they worked very hard since he has come into office to do something big on immigration reform. he promised it again in 2012. it is absolutely on the top of their priority list, but he cannot do it by himself. fairborn, ohio. karen is on the line for democrats. caller: i have a couple of comments. their,as congress and

really, nonworking schedule, we should only pay them for the days they are working [no audio] you get paid for the days you work, and they do get many as their carsar being paid on their leases and stuff. my congressman, i could not tell you what he does, i never hear from him. he is never in the area, that i know of. --hink he worries more about then the rest of us. guest: who is your congressman? caller: i believe it is mike turner. guest: you are tapping into the frustration that voters have. or is not a lot of action. is there a jobs bill? probably not. immigration bill?

probably not. if you keep on reading this and you see they are not in town, you will get frustrated. guest: if you are not already seeing it now in your home states, these congressmen and women coming back pushing hard for reelection. that whole campaign season also takes them away from washington and away from the need to take votes and work on legislation and have some meaningful impact. guest: people talk about november is far away and giving up already, but so many important races are out there. may is a huge month for primaries. which part of it will be in control of those in washington, if they take the senate and the house? that will be determined in the next six weeks. key primaries in north carolina, kentucky, georgia i'm a that will determine who is not only in the senate, which parties, but what type of party. retired,nowe, who is

and ted cruz, that is one of the swaps that happened in congress. that is a dramatic shift in the makeup of the conference and the party and what happens in washington. host: one thing you mentioned is the kentucky senate race. senator mitch mcconnell. playrole does that race specifically, and obviously him as senate majority leader -- minority leader? a few weeks ago he stopped playing his role as public dealmaker. he stepped back a bit and let the senate work on its own. he was not taking a hands-on approach. it looks like he will be dispatched by his primary opponent. mitch mcconnell has had a history of going aggressively after his opponent. he came out this last week and announced that he had to basically defend himself to say that he was never a supporter of cockfighting. he went to a few events when that was happening.

to say that you have to do this, probably not a good sign if you -- trying to be erected reelected to a senate seat. he has a double take and that he has to face, a top two democrat in the fall. mitch mcconnell is unpopular, too, but the question is, can he get through that? he is certainly the favorite in the primary and the general. his reelection is definitely going to affect washington. guest: the fact that he is vulnerable at all is making democrats elevate. that makes it a high-profile race, not only because the senate is up for grabs in terms of who controls it, but he is such a powerful figure there. we talked earlier about the president's trip to asia. one of the big things that people were watching about whether a trade deal would emerge.

given one that has not, has the trip been successful? the white house would say so. they bristled at some of the coverage from the media about the fact that it was not because of the trade deal. that said, there were expectations they would be able to advance this trade deal, particularly in japan even up till the last minute when they're waiting for the press conference between the president and prime minister abe. they were hoping to have language to show specific progress, but they have struggled to make progress on that in asia. it is something that is very important to this white house. they think it would be good for the economy in the united states and in these countries he is visiting, and for the world economy. another thing, shane might be able to talk about this more. they arehe push that using internationally, it also faces some significant resistance in the united states, and not where you might think.

coming from democrats in the congress. guest: it was one of the interesting things this year, after the state of the union, the president talked about moving this trade agreement about fast-track through congress as quickly as possible. the very next day, harry reid was at the white house working hand in glove. big al i normally. he comes and says, not happening, we are not taking it up. it was like the white house was taken aback. he took the entire -- took the entire wind out of his sails on that deal. it is one of issues that labor doesn't like, and the democrats the finale don't want to be on the wrong side of labor. guest: you would not be surprised to hear that the white house is not emphasizing that angle. they feel that if we can just get this through, get some sort of deal signed with our partners in asia, we will be able to tackle the opposition in washington.

but they haven't gotten that far in either place so it is still an open question. host: in delaware, bernard is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. soquestion is how is it quick that congress can help ukraine with aid to another country, and we the people in america are starting? the role for congress to turn the back for america. incursion,r russia's in nation, depending on who you ask, they tried to guarantee more loans to the country. there were some people who said that this is not a good idea, we are not going to get this money back, and tried to tap into that populist frustration across the country. rand paul is one of those people. he is positioning himself as the

menu doesn't want to give american money away abroad. that it makes you an isolationist amanda does put him out of the mainstream of what the parties doing. guest: it's an interesting point that the caller raises. both congress and the white house avenue 2 jobs in terms of domestic policy and foreign policy, and the white house would certainly argue that it is very important that ukraine feel the support of the united states both in terms of the loan guarantee but also just support dealinge of the u.s. with the challenges that russia is creating. the questions about if congress to move quickly on that but not on employment insurance or these other issues are fair questions. host: the president and nothing this morning that there will be additional sections on russia, announcing them later today. explain to us what we are looking at, as much as you know, and for you, shane, i'm curious

as to the response from members of congress. guest: you know, there is, again, different factions within both parties, but the real pushes that they want to send a tin and say this is not ok with the american government. they talked about and eight bill being guaranteed. it looks like a no-win situation in the short term and they are happy to let the president take the lead on these issues. sanctions we can expect to hear more about our additional asset freezes, additional travel bans for so-called cronies of vladimir putin and people close to him and the government. what we will not see at least not yet are what the white house calls rock, massive sanctions against specific parts of the russian economy, which could and almost certainly would reverberate against certain parts of the global economy, specifically europe.

you are seeing some back-and-forth between the white house, u.s. government, and european allies in terms of how far to go with those sanctions. the united states wants to show a united front between g7 countries, european allies, and the united states on the sanctions, and the fact that they are telegraphing it more is one way to try to show that. and there is no doubt that the sanctions will not be greeted in russia, but they will not go as far as they could. the united states is partially saying that this is how far we are going right now if you go and if you go any further in ukraine, we have more in our top drawer. host: virginia. lowell is on the line for independents. caller: thanks for taking my call. my comment to this moneys about those who come to work for us. how can an individual who claims to work for us as a delegate, senator, congressman, take the

amount of money that they take and then all the free things that they acquire, it just smacks in the face. it is unequal. it is not in relation to what the typical median group of people in the united states are capable of making on a regular basis. it seems terribly unfair, and all that -- excuse me -- all who you speak to, no matter how old it be granduldn't to just wipe the satellite -- wipe the slate clean and start all over? while it doesn't seem practical, it seems like a great idea. guest: and he is speaking to the figure, 68% of americans want to shop around for a new member of congress. a huge portion of congress is new. the tea party waves in 2010, new districts are drawn in 2012. the majority of congress has not

been here since the first room of the bush administration. houston, texas, where ashley is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning, lady and gentlemen. i want to speak about the affordable care act. i think it is absolutely absurd. i spent 42 years working in a hospital, 30 of them in the emergency center here. you wouldn't believe the people that are sitting there for hours and hours and hours because they don't have medical insurance. this is a county hospital. and they don't have medical insurance, and they are sitting there forever, and they are having heart attacks. trauma means trauma, and that means accidents, it means shootings, it means police shootings, this is what trauma

is. but most emergency centers -- i spent 28 years and there -- they -- you havedicine to have a medicine clinic going on besides the trauma center because so many people are not insured. i think the affordable care act is probably one of the greatest things that has ever happened in this country, and you can probably speak to any hospital employee that has worked in a trauma center, and they will let you know how this is needed. guest: and i think the white house would be very happy to hear this commentary, and it raises another question about costs. when people come into trauma centers or with some of these issues that the caller was referring to and they don't have insurance, that cost ends up being spread out to everybody else. that was one of the main arguments certainly that the president made working towards

passage of the affordable care act, that we want to bring health care costs down and one way of doing that is making sure everybody is insured so that these costs don't get passed on to everybody else. host: let's go to morgantown, north carolina. paul is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. an independent journalist in western north carolina and i wrote extensively on environmental issues as well as economic issues. grows on a that wholedeal has led to a lot of problems in discussion here, and it has been the consolidation of huge power throughout western europe, canada, and north america into the trade organizations. they have used their power to form trade agreements, which deregulated corporations to the point that they can go all over

the country and the world in these other countries and manipulate slave labor, no environmental controls, and bring stuff back to the united states and sell it. profit.ole lot higher products have gone up at the same rate was of the 1950's. we are not saving money on products. the corporations are making more money and dodging labor laws and environmental laws and everything else and it has reduced the number of jobs and created discontent among the poor and immigrants -- host: caller, we are running a little bit short on time so i will let our guests respond to you. guest: i was just going to say, trade agreements are controversial. there is no question there are winners and losers when you open the borders economically. and there are folks who like there are losers and it is one

of the reasons there is this challenge to mystically with creating a trade agreement with japan and other countries in asia. guest: i would also add to that whether or not they meet the desires and expectations of people in the labor community, labor standards, environmental standards are absolutely part of those negotiations. guest: and the mention of the slave labor -- there is not slave labor as part of american trade agreements are brought. host: one more e-mail on this topic. host: more about the topic of discontent that we have been talking about so much, guys. guest: i was out in california and the sheer number of locations cycling through -- politicians cycling through the bay area to talk to the tech community was a surprising. i happened to be out there. that is where the money is. there's not as many people going

to north dakota during a given break period, or minnesota. guest: we could take an entire hour to discuss the topic of money in politics. it is huge and plays a key role in these special elections and the presidential elections. host: couple minutes left. we go to marie in a new jersey on the line for democrats. caller: yes, good morning. i'd like to -- --t: hey, marie, so unless? still with us? hello?aller: host: you are on. caller: first, i would like to say that we need politicians that are going to do what is best for america, all right? let's stop the political fighting. i understand the job still has been on the show since around 2011.

my goodness, bring it to the floor and let the people vote for it that worked on us. it would be a better country if we stopped talking about politics and just talked about what america needs right now. it needs jobs, it needs health care, a needs benefits for unemployed people. this is the first time in this roof unemployment that they didn't -- in the history of unemployment that they didn't extend it. it has been extended under republican presidents and democratic presidents. please, let's get real, let's look forward. thanks, guys. guest: we should make it clear that both shane and i are journalists and not represent political parties here. but what the caller said is something both political parties would've no doubt appreciate hearing. guest: politics has become sort of a team sport, and in team sports there's winning teams and losing teams and both sides

especially here our test with being on the winning team, both in elections, in every legislative fight. bills,s a battle to win two in the post signing of the bill messaging -- to win the post-signing of the bill messaging. guest: whether you like it or not, politics is the engine revenue of getting a lot of these policy things through. that is a big part of how washington works. addison, tennessee, ralph on our line for republicans. caller: i wanted to speak about -- obama refuses to admit that the unappointed rate is really closer to 20 or 25%. i do applaud his efforts to get minimum wage up to $10.10. i deliver pizza and stuff and i'm only making $4.25 an hour. about 1 and -- only

5 people -- they don't want to tip. tip 5 people don't want to on average. to thing has gone out for a lot has gone -- tipping out for a lot of people and deliverers need this wage to be brought up. guest: he i talking about the slightly extra topic. in some cases you are getting paid well less than the minimum wage, below the federal minimum wage. jobou are working on a tip in some states you are making as little as two dollars an hour and those other people nobody's really talking about. guest: i'm not sure where the is,r is -- where the caller 20, 25% on a climate, but where -- 20, 25% unappointed, but the

numbers are still too high. host: thank you both for being with us this morning. guest: pleasure being here. host: when we come back we will masonned by george university law professor frank buckley to talk about these of executive power in the american government and his book "the once and future king." earlier this morning heard about republican -- we heard from republican cause about speaker john boehner. democrats, we want to hear from you for the last 30 minutes. your view of senate majority leader harry reid. let's get an update from c-span radio. >> president obama speaking at a news conference earlier with the philippine president said that a new security agreement doesn't mean the u.s. is trying to establish military bases in their country. the president said that a deal signed today given the military greater access to philippine bases will strengthen security in the region. the move is being seen as an

effort by washington to counter chinese aggression in the region. the president went on to say at the news conference, "we welcome china's peaceful rise. we have a constructive relationship with china and our goal is not to canada china, our goal is not to contain china." president obama did take a moment to send his deepest condolences to those affected by the tornado that hit arkansas, saying that he wants everyone affected to note that the federal government is on the ground to help, and he says the federal emergency management agency will work with local officials. 15 tornado killed at least people yesterday. the u.s. attorney's office in brooklyn says that new york congressman michael grimm has been taken into custody to face federal charges. the staten island republican in manhattan.oked prosecutors did not immediately

specify the exact charges he faces. police have been investigating his involvement in financing in a 2010 race and his involvement in a restaurant that do not carry insurance. in a world with multiple countries competing for consumer -- for the options on tv, for example. that doesn't work on the laws are written for monopoly minute -- monopoly negotiations. users don't have as many options as they could have, and the prices are still going up for your television and video services. >> that as a whole lot of competition between different kinds of companies that didn't exist. it used to be that you watch tv or you had a cable provider. now there's everything from cell phone countries offering cable services to satellite companies to doing it over your internet

ulu. everything else, like h7 there is a lot more consumer choice, but that means we have to have an antitrust approach and mean there are not monopoly providers that engage in anti-competitive activities. sure want to do is make that the fcc releases all their information in a timely manner. we will go through an entire process of fcc reform this year. we think the agency should be more transparent, that they should focus on what they are doing with the spectrum and licensing. that is their core mission. we don't want them getting off internet neutrality and trying to governance of the internet. we don't want them in privacy and data security issues. those go to the ftc. it is time to narrow their focus and get them back to their true mission. communicators"the ," at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2.

"washington journal" continues. is frankning me now buckley, professor of law at george mason university and the author of the book "the once and future king." thanks for joining us this morning. >guest: thank you for having me. host: what made you decide to write this book? guest: i came here from canada and i expected to find a country that was different from my former country. instead, i found one that had a fair bit of monarchy built into it, curiously. it is a country which was founded by very smart, eminent, wise people, and what they wanted most of all was a country that would not be ruled by one man alone. increasingly that is what we are moving to. host: i will read a quotation and you can break it down for us.

host: break that down for us. guest: what i didn't say was george bush or obama. this is not really a partisan point. it is a constitutional point. we have slipped off separation of powers. when americans think of their constitution, i think what they primarily think of is separation of powers between equal branches . but i don't think they are equal anymore. i think most of the power resides in the white house and i don't think that is going to be changed. when people look at the country 40 years from now or 100 years from now, they will see this time as a point of reflection of where things have changed, and where the separation of powers,

instead of something which prevents the acumen nation of power in one party, in the president, it instead immunizes the president from criticism. host: why do you think we have drifted further away from the separation of powers that the founders set up? guest: well, what the founders didn't want was for one person or body to have all the power. that is more basic than separation of powers. they came up with a scheme that was, frankly, a little messy. they had power diffused allover the place. what they didn't expect is that we would end up with a president who can't make laws by the cat, make e who can -- who can laws by dictat. it is not about bush or obama committees about the modern presidency. i don't think it is going to change. i think what we will see is a gradual realization that the can pretty much do

what he wants. if there is a gridlock problem, he can cut through it as he seeks to do in the present. we look increasingly to him as a person who will solve the country's problems. that, i think, can be dangerous. wrote in your book that presidential systems are "bad for liberty." guest: united states has had a pretty good run and no one would say that this is anything but a free country, but the american residential system did not export well. what did export well is the reddish system, the mess -- the british system, the westminster system. if you compare presidential regimes with parliamentary regimes, presidential regimes in other countries are not conducive to political liberty. america is a free country in spite of its constitution and not because of it. host: our guest is frank

buckley, a professor of law at george mason university. to join our conversation this morning host: i want to ask you about more details in the book. you say that separation of powers is not the best idea. n't thewell, it wasbn primary idea between -- behind what the framers wanted. to imagine what it would be ,ike, imagine the 2012 election with the election thrown to the house of representatives. different president. they thought the president would be more accountable to congress and they didn't expect the rise of the great federal state.

they didn't see the great regulatory state in the offing. they thought the executive would be thin. the executive would be charged with defending the country is invaded, but not a lot more than that. the government has changed, and the institutions, the presidencies change with it. host: first call is nancy in los angeles on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. guest: hello, nancy. caller: hi, how are you? guest: good. caller: i think the congress has ceded power to the president. what do you think? guest: i think you are absolutely right. amongst conservatives there is some criticism of members of congress. i think they are acting to the voters. john boehner does not want to take on president obama could he is reading probably correctly what the voters want of him. host: let's go to a tweet now.

host: do you agree? guest: not really. they certainly went after nixon posteryou want to pick a child for the imperial presidency, nixon is a pretty good place to start. it has continued since then and has accelerated in recent years. host: another quotation from the book. host: kind of a fun one. guest: just for fun. i think it would be nice if we could somehow, though we can't emulate the british system where we could toss out up prime -- by simpleivil vote of the majority of house of representatives or house of commons, there is one other ht hing, too. in america, the head of government is the head of state, whereas in britain, you have the

queen who is head of state and the president as head of government. that is dangerous. it is not just dangerous, it is not even really healthy. so much emotion is wrapped up in , whereas in a parliamentary system, politicians are figures of fun, they are buffoons. let's laugh at them. host: if someone were to take that suggestion and play it out practically, do worry about a president on the world stage dealing with other nations? guest: not really. i think america, though forceful of the moment with respect to russia, is not been especially forceful in recent years. i don't know that i would worry terribly about it. there are people both on the left and on the right who are great fans of strong presidential government. on the right, for example, john yoo's name comes to mind. these are national greatness people who worry like you about

protecting american might around the world could i don't know if who you would be worse off if we projected less american might around the world. host: keith is on the line for republicans. caller: how are you doing, ma'am? i like theou and conversation. i think the media matters. the media belongs to one side versus another site is the critical balance that our founders even overlooked, you know what i'm saying? whoever controls the media -- same with when bush was going to war and they were dogging him so doggedly on everything he done cap him in check. the same can't be said about obama, when he does things -- can you imagine the president doing as many blunders as he has done and nobody attacks? he gets away with a lot of things that other presidents don't get away with. when the powers of government

are uneven in that way and one president has the media on his side, that gives an unfair advantage to him. guest: keith, i think you are making 2 really good points. the modern media has a lot to do with the rise of presidential power and a lot to do with the rise of executive power generally. you see the same phenomenon in a parliamentary government where the prime minister is the most important figure. the other point you make is about the partisan nature of the press, which somehow doesn't have much of a parallel and other countries. the press is sharply divided between people who support, well, a large number of media outlets that support the president, roughly, and a smaller group that doesn't. the ideaisan bias, that you have to take sides in defend your own if you are in the media, that is really dangerous. ted in new hampshire on the line for independents. caller: yes, hello. guest: hi, ted. ifler: i have a question --

you could explain -- like in a n-type in-type -- algonqui government? guest: i'm sorry, i missed that. algonquin? guest: that is probably the word, i just don't know it. is beingust the way it run as change from the usual way we do things. i have heard it used on c-span before. but i'm not sure the exact explanation of it. guest: well, i tell you, if you're describing the rise of presidential power, i couldn't agree more with you. one, forve you instance. amongst the democrats there is a concern that too much money is flowing into the coffers for hillary's campaign in 2016 and congressionalshe this november. but think about it for a moment

-- the power is all on the other end of the building avenue then all that really matters is who will occupy the white house, not congress. imagine if republicans take the senate. ifld that change things? you're a donor, the rise of presidential government changes your strategy with respect to whom you support and we're seeing that now. line forllis is on our democrats. caller: hello. my question has almost been answered. do you think there's any chance congress being able to work together enough to balance the presidential power in the future? with: well, i do come up one suggestion, and by the way, a lot of people are right about the proposed constitutional amendments. i think that is just nonsense

and with all due respect to these fellows, and they are great scholars come it is so difficult to amend the constitution i just don't see that happening. what i did suggest, however, is this -- if you wanted to strengthen congress, there are a couple of things to do. first, clean up its act. is an unequal contest because on the one hand you have the president, on the other hand you have 435 fracturous people lead in the house by a speaker from some place in ohio which was never heard of unless you are from ohio -- which you have never heard of unless you are from ohio. it is no contest. if we had a national referendum on some issue like the budget, that might strengthen congress' hand to propose a change in contrast to whatever the president wants. host: ask you another question is moaning about a quotation from the book.

guest: that's right. well, again, if you look at presidential regimes in other countries, they didn't fare so well. the countries that have fared better typically have parliamentary regimes, and the reason is that there is more accountability in a parliamentary regime. that is really important. there are presidents for life. there are no prime minister's for life. host: frank buckley is a george mason university law professor and the author of "the once and future king." massachusetts. linda is on the line for independents. caller: good morning. guest: hi, linda. caller: i had a comment and then a question. i find it extremely deplorable sit thereny democrats and cheer on and encourage this president to continuously write executive orders.

i just can't even get my hand around it -- head around it. that's my comment. my question is at what point do they stop this? i understand that they are gridlocked, i understand there is a problem. isn't it true that the the-and-take think -- if president has to give them ,omething, they give something sort of a mutual agreement saying, and that is how these things get done? thank you. guest: well, those are good questions. i think if you are the average voter there would be more cooperation. but if there isn't cooperation right now, it is because you are not the typical voter, and i think most voters are happy with the direction the country is going with obama and his executive orders. i'm not blaming obama in any way. what i see him doing is working

at the logic of presidential government as we have seen in other countries, and i don't think with the new president we will ever go back to the way it was. host: a question from twitter ash a statement, rather -- a statement, rather. guest: well, it's more than a suggestion. correct, oraller is the tweet is correct, then i think you have to look to the institutions themselves. here is an example. the tarp bailout of $900 billion was meant for "financial institutions." but both bush and obama wanted to direct money to the car manufacturers. $80 billion of that. that was not authorized by congress.

nothing is more basic to the constitution that you cannot send money unless it is authorized by congress. this wasn't. it was an $80 billion oversight. i don't know if you remember the protests about that, because i can't remember. in short, congress went along with it. if you want to blame the system, blame everybody in it. republicans,e for in water flat, michigan. caller: yes, can you hear me? host: we can. caller: i'm so glad to hear this whole conversation because i'm just horrified of this oversight that is going on in the white house right now. i wish congress would be strong and take the power of the purse. i would love to read your book because i think it would be something that would be helpful for me to campaign and spread the word to everybody that we all have to take part and say

this has got to stop, this tyranny. guest: now, there is a caller i like. [laughter] i couldn't agree more with the caller. it requires a change, not just the institution, but a recognition that realization amongst the voters that things have changed and we don't necessarily like where they are heading. host: sacramento, california. robert is on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i have a question for you guest regarding -- does he agree that all politics are local? secondly, the gerrymandering that is taking place last few years -- does he think that affects the way the separation of governments are the way they are today regarding the presidential executive? guest: welcome i think politics are local when you get to congress. they aren't local when you go to

the presidency, for obvious reasons. but i also couldn't agree more about gerrymandering. it is really destructive of the workings of congress and of ordinary civility because it tends to produce people who are hard-core on one side or the other, and these are exactly the people who don't cut deals. now, cutting a deal may not be what you want, but at the same time, i think we would have a much more civil conversation if one had to talk to people on the other side. you are more likely to do that when voters aren't concentrated. the will ofs congress changed and what could congressional lawmakers do to compete with the executive power that you say has expanded? guest: well, you need a united .ront of one party or the other as it happens right now it is the republicans in congress, but

imagine a republican president and the situation reversed. what you would need would be something like a newt gingrich figure who could unite whoever is the party in congress and that particular point. one platform that everybody runs on. and where you are. voters -- where you appeal to the voters. the previous gentleman was right. local so you are not running on a national platform, you are only running on bringing the bacon to your district. that is a big part of the problem. host: our line for republicans. caller: good morning -- is it mr. buckley? guest: yeah, good morning. caller: i'm a college student and i'm taking an american government and politics course at our local community college. we finished up with the american presidency, so this is a great topic. i wanted to bring up -- a professor has told the class

that there is supposed to be gridlock, that the constitution provides for those 3, equal branch -- those 3 coequal branches so that one does not abuse its power. there needs to be separation of powers because you don't want one branch of government to have to much power over the other, so you can have accountability. guest: well, that's a good question, and let me answer. you are right, the idea of separation of powers and gridlock in good -- gridlock being good is that you squeeze --, you eliminate that l and limited b -- you eliminate bad laws. but what happens if you have a bad law enacted and you want to get rid of it? now you have a reversibility problem. a parliamentary system is one where you can erase your mistakes are easily. it is more important to go back and get it right the first time,

because foresight is always harder than hindsight. host: north carolina, our line for independents. caller: good morning, frank, how are you? guest: good. caller: i'm an independent so i try to look at both sites and --d out things else out for how things balance out for the good of all people and not just a particular party. when i look at president obama, who has received more negative attention than any president in history that we have ever elected, and when i realize that congress and the united states senate control what the president does, and when a president decides to exercise powers under executive order, all of a sudden the whole country has fallen apart. i want to note if this something ifng contribute it -- know this is something being contributed by the democrats

or republicans, it making bad remarks about our leader and not having respect for our leadership, and i would also like to know as well, frank, do you see this changing anytime soon for the next person that is in office? because these people are symbolic -- not only are president, but our cars and our senate -- our congress and our senate are reflections of us all around the globe. i want to know what we can do to not point fingers at people, but to find better resolutions at being able to come together as a country. thank you. guest: why, thank you. and i agree with you, i don't point the finger at a particular president, i point the finger of the institution. we have seen this kind of expansion with george w. bush, who, by the way, created the department of homeland security by executive order. and we have seen it with obama,

and i think obama has taken it further, frankly. again, what i see them doing is not so much of using the office but it -- abusing the office but abusing the powers and what the logic of the system is. if you don't like it, don't blame him, blame the system, or think of the ways in which one could pull back a little bit. host: another question from twitter. guest: yeah. as the is free constitution produced that -- i argued not and i do so after having looked at presidential regimes and parliamentary regimes across the world. i did some number crunching and i just compare them and threw in a bunch of variables could guess what? presidential regimes are back for liberty. they have a system that works very well for us -- we have a system that works very well for us. he just didn't get exported very well.

if we succeeded another presidential regimes have failed, the conclusion teams to me is that there is something special about america, not so much the presidential system. from st. helena island, south carolina. james, go ahead and turn down your tv so that you can talk to frank buckley. caller: yes. guest: hi, james. caller: how you doing, sir? i was sitting there listening and hearing the different comments and statements, and naturally, i'm supporter of the president, but i wonder how you come to your conclusion. and i have a question concerning -- how does the president function when you have people like mitch mcconnell.com -- let mitch mcconnell that come out a few days after he is elected president and say they will do everything in a power to defeat

him? guest: well, i don't have any particular problem with politicians doing politics. that is what it sounds like to me. i suspect that the president would want to do the same to mitch mcconnell and that is fine. host: tennessee, our line for democrats. caller: yes, good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i was wondering -- i haven't heard you mention so far -- i haven't heard the word "corporations" mentioned at all. it seems to me that what is happening in this nation and the world is the direct result of operations -- of corporations trying to retain power and not let it slip back into the hands of we the people. whenou were talking about .he imperial presidency started i believe it started with abraham lincoln. he had a lot of quotes about the negative effects of corporations upon this nation.

it has just been getting worse since then. i would like to end this -- my name is arnold joseph white. i have a website where you can read for free a book that i wrote. the book is entitled "divine 9/11 intervention," and the website is godislove.org. guest: thank you very much, arnold. well, lincoln is one of my heroes. quite apart from the civil war, i think he will be membered as the most consequential president of the 19th century because of the internal improvements he espoused -- land-grant colleges, transcontinental railway, relaxed policies as to immigration. this went a long way towards making us our country we have today. no am i didn't talk about corporations. that is a subject for another time. host: john on the line for republicans. caller: yes, hello.

guest: hello. caller: i believe that presidential powers -- i don't know how it has gotten out of hand. i particularly i believe it has started from the intelligence communities. the cia, the nsa, the intelligence committee of the senate. the president has to get correct information, not information thatis not really true, or conflicts with their advancement in their job. and i believe that the president long,en misled for so especially 30 years, that includes ailing out private industry -- and bailing out-industry -- 4 times in my lifetime. who gave him that right? guest: well, you are right,

although ironically, i think your point is one which as opposedpresidents to congress. in terms of the flow of information, whether it be great information or not so great information, he's a symbol got a lot more of it van congress does -- simply got a lot more of it than congress does. that gives the president the upper hand, particularly in foreign policy. host: jerry on the line for republicans. caller: good morning, everyone. guest: good morning. caller: mr. buckley, being a canadian, i believe i heard you say, what will be your response to a question about just eliminating the democratic republic in party and putting all our purpose and it is on the same team? wouldn't that be something you could give an opinion on? sure, i can,- oh, although i don't know if you are describing canada in any way. i should mention one thing -- i

became an american citizen on tuesday the week before last, and i don't know if you are counting, but that was april 15. it's like, welcome to america, here's the bill. inre are politics all over first world countries. thank heavens. host: one more quote from your book. guest: that's right. well, here's the point.. the supreme court is enamored of the idea of separation of powers, and it has applied it in a neutral kind of way without regard to the fact that all the parts are stacked in the hands of the president at this point. they will provide -- they will

restrict the power of congress on occasion when compared toxic we, it is congress that is especially weak in their contest it isn, paradoxically, comes that is especially weak in their contest with the president. the framers were practical, wise, wonderful people, for the most part, and they were people who look over all of the structure and not at the fine-tuning machinery. i think the supreme court has concentrated too much on consoles which were meant to be -- principles which were meant to be means to prevent the examination of powers, and they haven't looked at the realtor relation -- real documentation in the presidency. host: what should the role of the supreme court be? guest: there are things that the easily.court can do they reined in to president bush when it came to enhanced interrogation, although interestingly, they gave him a couple years to do it before they reined him in.

they can't really take charge of the regulatory state. it is just not in the purview of the courts to find just the exercise of presidential discretion about -- to fine-tune the exercise of presidential discretion about those matters could what congress has done is legislate in very broad terms that brings -- gives the discretion of the president to write the revelations the president wants -- regulations the president wants. host: lebanon, new jersey. caller: frank, i want to commend you on your book. i plan to read it thoroughly. guest: another fellow i love. caller: excuse me? guest: another caller i love. caller: your timeliness is tremendous. we do not have a democracy. , or as an aristocracy the gentleman perhaps was trying to verbalize, and oligarchy.

these campaigns to get people elected to congress, or the president, so they do exactly what they want. they want the president to do what he does -- they do comply with what they want. the congress is merely there to stay out of the way so that the aristocracy works. the foreign affairs of this country, financial, even in ukraine, all based on financial interests of the upper 1%, the only ones who have the money to invest overseas. the middle-class should wake up and understand it unaffordable health care, unaffordable education, all those tax dollars have been brought to the campaign funding of the upper 1%. they run the country and they want the president to have no confrontation from the other portion, the congress. that is all that is going on. so you are saying the rise? absolutely. this is the way it is going to be until the american people step in and throw these guys out

of office in congress so that they can put in people who will actually do the job of the constitution. guest: well, i agree with a lot .f that, probably most of that again, it is a subject for another time, but there is a kind of new aristocracy that is emerging, and it is not just the 1%. it is the professional class, sometimes 1%, sometimes 5%, whatever the number is. and that should be worrying. you know what should be the most worrying thing right now? the decline of mobility. promise, the promise of america was a country where everybody could get ahead. you know what, that is denmark. that is not america. we're about his class structured in terms of mobility us we're about as class structured in terms of mobility as written is -- as britain is. host: one more comment from twitter.

guest: well, talking to a member of the media. [laughter] oh, no, not at all. it is extraordinarily powerful in every first world country. if i folded the media before, with the honorable -- if i faulted the media before, with the honorable exception of c-span, it is the media that sees its role as taking sides. one of my favorite movies, "liberty valance," where the newspaperman is asked to take sides and he says, "no, i'm a newspaperman. i should care these people up -- tear these people up." whatever party. host: greg on the line for republicans. caller: good morning, mr. buckley. guest: morning, greg. caller: currently the judicial

branch -- 10 they only serve in a reactive role? guest: that is correct. caller: what would it take for the judicial branch to become more proactive and take a more active role in all this? guest: i don't know that you want them to.\ the judges, the federal bench wisely abstains from political decisions. you wouldn't want them to take charge. the battle between congress and the presidency -- it would be ias inor them to have a b favor of congress, but when it comes to actual policies, what we prefer would be neutrality. the desire to see that the rules are observed and nothing more than that. host: virginia. mary an outline for democrats. caller: thank you for taking my call. good morning. i feel that the is the threat to our democracy is a partisan supreme court that is now ruling in favor of corporations, money

for the rich people to give unlimited amounts. that is what you should be writing about. and i would like to ask you -- i keep hearing about obama being the king and overreaching. how many -- i would like you to know this, given that you are a comedyon this -- executive orders and signing statements did bush have an how many did obama have right now? thank you very much. guest: sure. the answer is there were more executive orders under bush than under obama. i don't know if that is just counting up the raw numbers tells the whole story. most constitutional scholars will say that obama took it to the next level. and as for your other point about the role of money in politics, again, a subject for another conversation. host: last caller for this segment is gina in tennessee on our line for independents. caller: yes, mr. buckley.

can't wait to get my teeth into your book. however, what i want to discuss theo you believe that anti-colonist of you -- the anti-colonist view is more where obama is leaning? is that the reason you would suspect that maybe -- congress got the power of the purse. we've got harry reid that blocks every single bill. i'm not really -- obama is overreaching, with the executive orders and everything, but i there he has got a camp that is hell-bent on not exercising laws or letting the other branches the town will -- letting the other branches be ountable.

obama is just really -- i heard a caller previously talk about everybody is just talking bad about the president and holding him back. however, i think he really kind his -- calling it upon himself by making himself look imperial. host: you know, we are a little short on time. i will ask frank buckley to go ahead and respond. i agree with a fair bit, although i'm not talking about obamas a much as the institution. were the situation reversed and we had a republican doing what is doing, those people who are supporters of obama would -- might realize that there are dangers in this direction. thing. last i would like to see more accountability and more congressional oversight and

there is an institution meant to do that, the inspectors general. russell george issued the inspector general -- the inspector general of the irs issued a report on lois lerner, and for that his integrity was questioned by democratic members of congress. and gerald walton, who was investigating a democratic donor , was summarily fired by president obama. he was the specter general of some other branch of the government. we are so partisan that even efforts to promote integrity in government and congressional oversight are condemned by the other side. that is how much we have sunk. host: our guest is frank buckley, a law professor at george mason university and the author of "the once and future king." thank you for joining us this morning and congrats on your citizenship. guest: thank you so much. host: we will take a quick break and then open up the line for democrats.

the topic, senate majority leader harry beat. let's go to an update from c-span radio. >> more u.s. sanctions being imposed on russia today. president obama says the move is in response to continued alleged provocations in ukraine. imposing an are asset freeze and visa ban on several russian government officials, including 2 members innersident putin's circle. reports that current and former students across the country who filed complaints against their universities for allegedly mishandling sexual assault cases have been invited to attend an event tomorrow at the white house, hosted by the white house task force to prevent students from sexual assault. that task force was established in january. a new report today says that u.s. public high schools have reached a milestone, and 80% graduation rate. yet that still means that one of every five students walked away without a diploma.

citing the progress, researchers are ejecting and 90% graduation rate -- projecting and 90% graduation rate by 2020. >> of course the white house press corps is here. i admire cnn's commitment to cover all sides of the story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate. [laughter] john boehner is not here tonight. speaker bader and president obama are still struggling to get along. they're kind of like a line date join anderson cooper and rachel maddow. in theory, they understand each other's position, but he down, you know nothing is ever going to happen. [laughter] housech the white correspondents dinner live saturday night. president obama and joel mchale headline the event before an audience of celebrities,

journalists, and the white house press corps. starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern with the red carpet arrival, followed by the dinner. >> for over 35 years, c-span brings public affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room of congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences, and offering complete coverage of the u.s. house, all as a public service of private industry. we are c-span, created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch as it hd, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. "washington journal" continues. host: we asked republicans for their view of house speaker john boehner. now we want to over the phone lines for democrats to get your take on senate majority leader harry reid. eastern and central time zones --

.02-585-3880 mountain and pacific time zones --202-585-3881. a spokesman for senator harry meritlessssed this as . he charges the majority leader improperly used his government-funded website and twitter accounts for partisan political purposes. ongoing attacks against the koch brothers. comments in's speech is a visit of florida for have also appeared on his said enate.gov website and his official twitter account. hittings for prosperity back at harry reid on twitter. they tweet -- senator reid calls

the liars, but we call them americans who were lied to by barack obama. that is from americans for prosperity. that is attacking democratic candidates. next, let's go to an article from national review online where andrew johnson reports that the rnc chairman says harry reid is so dirty and unethical that some of these things have to happen. you have to put a marker down. inspired by a similar letter put forward by the louisiana gop, the complaint states that reid has violated city rolled over two which state senators cannot use taxpayer-funded resources and services for political and partisan purposes. is the rnc alleges that reid use exhibit official website said his office twitter account. going after republicans, the koch brothers, and others.

first call is from san martin, california. us your thoughts on senate majority leader harry reid. i love harry reid, i do. i think he has been correct on everything. i love the way he handled the shutdown. i far as the koch brothers, am glad he is bringing it to light. ofope more americans know them. i have watched many programs regarding them and americans for prosperity. they have been on shows like "frontline." they have been behind the climate change deniers and reports that deny that people, you know, human activity is adding to it. it is critical. climate change is huge. i think after the weather we have had over the past year, maybe people will start waking up a little bit.

i think it is, for my future generations, this is the most important thing. and the koch brothers have been the biggest money behind pushing is nothingat there that they are doing or other oil companies and fossil fuels are doing to, you know, push, i guess, climate change. next we will move onto the caller in new orleans. give us your take on senate majority leader harry reid. i love harry reid. i think harry reid is doing exactly what he needs to do to keep those republicans in place. they would just stop everything and push their agenda. not about the people -- about their koch brothers or people who give them all the money. so harry reid, give them hell, harry. host: we have mentioned the koch

brothers quite a bit, and so has harry reid. he accused them of being un-american. let's take a listen on why -- like most crude businessmen, are very gooders at protecting a prodigious future in prodigious fortune. there's nothing un-american about that. but what is an american is when shadowy billionaires put unlimited money into our democracy to rid the system, to .enefit themselves i believe in an america where economic opportunity is open to all. based on their actions and policies they promote, the koch brothers seem to believe in an america where the system is rigged to benefit the very wealthy. based on senate republicans ardent defense of the koch theyers and the fact that

advocate for many of the same things look to it since my republican colleagues also believe in a system that benefits billionaires at the expense of the middle-class pair the koch brothers are willing to and by thatons america. you are seeing pictures of the koch brothers on the screen. let's go to for genia -- virginia where john is on the line. guest: i believe that harry reid is doing a marvelous job. i think the reality is the supreme court has given ways for to doch brothers whatever they want to do in this country. it. is the way i look at harry reid cover the way i see

it, he says enough is enough. he does not have any republicans he can work with. you look at mitch mcconnell right now, look at every time mitch mcconnell tries to make a deal with harry reid. his own party attacking him. you cannot win at all appeared you need lawmakers who will run this country. i think with harry reid is doing right now, he is saying to job to do.you have a you are the majority, and you need to do what you need to do. i believe that if harry reid -- i wish we would have a senator from new york that he can replace. because the democrats, they need to stand up for themselves. senators,e voting for we need people who can do the job. not because you're giving up. i do not want the senators and are arguing, but i believe

senators have to understand one thing. that youyou for a job can do for this country. i think the koch brothers do not understand the freedoms and the money they have in this country. host: our topic this morning, we're talking to democrats only for their views on senate majority leader harry reid. eastern and central time zones .se the number 202-585-3880 and for mountain and pacific time zones, 202-585-3881. spring, texas -- good morning. something that strikes minor with harry reid -- i am republican. i did agree when he first came to the senate and he was in favor of a complete audit. months later, he did a complete 180. when he talks about transparency in the super elite in super

wealthy, i question where that comes from. besides that, harry reid has blocked a lot of measures that the house republicans through the vigilante has attempted -- through the majority have attempted to put forth. he is really acting on his own behalf. i have conflicts with harry reid and what his motives are. benny is on the line. are you with us? caller: yes. first of all, i think he is doing a fabulous job. i think he is very courageous are standing up against the koch brothers. thatime you have people have so much money and so much power, they go into underdeveloped countries and by barnes for a penny on the

dollar. n and sell itback i back to the underdeveloped countries for 100%. i think he is a fabulous job. host: a tweet from senator harry reid himself -- the kochs want to say false and misleading things about obamacare, but we are not allowed to criticize them for it? atlanta, georgia -- caller: yes, how are you doing? is about the most honorable man i see up there right now. you have people like the koch brothers another billionaires around the country that are trying to buy and sell the united states at the expense of middle-class and poor folks.

these are the people actually paying the taxes to run the country. you know? it is like they are playing around. harry reid is standing up for the american people. thank you. host: let's go to another story from the huffington post page lavender. harry reid calls on republicans who condemned hateful, racist private funding. he called on republicans, several which publicly express their support for bundy in a dispute over grazing fees. rating a little bit from his statement now -- i used to live in north las vegas, home to some of the hardest working people i have ever met. men and women who embody the american dream by working hard everyday to build a better life for themselves and their families. by contrast, bundy has profited

off of government land while refusing to pay the same fair use fees as fellow rangers. revealed himself as a hateful racist. resumed -- revealed himself to be a hypocrite. that is a statement from senator harry reid last week in response to the controversy. vir go to blue ridge, ginia. richard is on the line. go ahead. ok, i feel harry reid is definitely a godsend. he is a patriot, and we should be thankful for him. he calls it like it is to the party of no, which they are a joke. they seem to be trying to make sure they do not get back into the presidency, because they're making more enemies than they

are friends. thank you very much. host: springtime, texas. ann is on the line. caller: hello, thanks for this show. i love senator reid. he is a fighter incomes -- he is a fighter. he is for women. republicans are not. he stands for the rights of everyone. how in the world the right wing to take up for a man who stands against the federal government, flag andndy waves a then stands there and says he does not believe in the federal government. i mean, the man is either insane or just ignorant. and he takes medicare and social security. so i applaud senator reid for standing for the rights of everyone. i do not think welfare ranchers

should get a break, and i do not believe that we should promote, through some outlets, gun violence and racial violence like what is going on on some news outlets. thank you. host: let's go to a couple comments from twitter -- thingch brothers is spent -- spending money they earned. reid is spending money taken from others. tother one -- tell your rep vote for congressional term limits. next up is a call from missouri. caller: i would just like to make a comment about harry reid. this deal over in nevada with this reinsurer, -- with this rancher, harry reid once this

property to get to china so that china can come over here in take up the land for their deal and harry reid is going to get a piece of the pie. he wants to fatten his wallet. that is what it is all about. that is what all government is about. host: we have a screenshot of senator harry reid's website. about the koch brothers, as well as videos that say "addicted to koch." bulk of $30ding the million this cycle. and he says the kochs want to abolish social security and minimum wage laws. that is on harry reid's website. florida, charlie is on the line. caller: yes, i want to say i support everything harry reid has done. he has been very tolerant of the

representatives. house had said the been sending over lots of legislation. they are all nonstarters and no-brainers. and that is what the republican majority is in congress, a lot of no-brainers. of course he is not going to entertain a lot of the nonsense they send over to him, because they are totally disingenuous. they are not even trying to make headway with dealing with issues like unemployment and getting the people back to work, getting something done about the immigration problems. it is great that he is bringing up the issue with the koch brothers spending all this money on false advertising and stuff like that, like the keystone pipeline, misinformation about that. knowing they have got 1.2 million acres at the tar sands in canada that they want to have developed, and they also want to do the refining down in texas.

and running all the junk through our country, right over our heartland. everything harry reid is doing is great as far as i'm concerned. more power to him. in the washington journal -- harry reid becomes a campaign fixture. is senate's top democrat playing a starring role in campaign ads and fundraising pitches across the country. but on behalf of republicans, gop leaders have launched a new effort to try to turn senate majority leader harry reid of nevada into a political symbol of all that ails washington --

that is from the wall street journal. cheshire, connecticut, you are on. caller: i am getting a lot of good laughs this morning. i used to be a democrat, and that is one of the reasons i am laughing because almost all of the calls are supporting harry reid, and i do not think any of these people have any idea who he really is. unfortunately, i was laid off from a job. due to my free time while looking to jobs, i started paying attention to politics and started to research things. i started listening to certain sound bites. i spent hours researching both parties. harry reid has wrapped some land in nevada for his son's company who is involved with the chinese making solar panels. this is all about his son and his personal well-being. so he is exactly like the koch brothers. host: tell me where you got that information. caller: if you go online and you

google harry reid and solar panels, nevada, or harry reid landgrab in nevada, you will get the information. able to not spend enough time researching. they just listen to others telling them what they should think. host: you said you used to be a democrat and you are not anymore. what made you change your mind? caller: the last eight years. the biggest thing, the whole change in this country came with our1, obviously, freedoms. due to edward snowden's revelations, we now know how the government works. harry reid is a part of that. is term limits, simple. harry reid was not there for so long, he would not have been bought by these people. host: next up in cairo, georgia, is brita. caller: good morning. i love harry reid for his am exposing corporate

america. we no longer live in a democracy due to corporate greed. i mean, nobody is an angel. everybody makes mistakes. has some downfalls in their own right. but we do no longer have a democracy. we need to wage a war on peace inequality -- peace and equality. there's too much corporate america holding back jobs. the taxes are not right. people, we want fair taxes. for democratsc is only. we want to hear your views of senate majority leader harry reid, pictured on your screen on the senate floor. next up is a call from silver spring, maryland. caller: i just wanted to say that it is support harry reid and i think you strike to do his job under difficult circumstances. john boehner basically has put

roadblocks for anything that president obama would like to do .or the country i think it is very disappointing that republicans have not tried to work with this president. harry reid has shined a spotlight on the koch brothers, which i think it's very important because they really want a low profile. they do not want people to know what their agenda is. they are behind the scenes on a lot of these conservative right-wing ideas. they want to abolish social security. i think it is time for people to wake up and see what is going on, that we are going to lose our democracy if people like the koch brothers are able to spend unlimited -- they are billionaires, they can spend unlimited amounts of money to put forth their agenda and to buy certain candidates to espouse their viewpoints. that is what i wanted to say. americans foroned prosperity. the rnc is filing an ethics complaint and -- again senator reed. they say he should not be using

taxpayer money for his senate website to write these things about the koch brothers, to call him out -- to call them out. what is your take on that? caller: i think we have freedom of speech in this country. i would assume that senator reid researched the facts before he put that on his website. i would assume he would do that. i would assume any senator or congressman would do something like that. that is my own feeling about it. he is an honest man. he is just trying to do his job under very difficult circumstances. host: stan in littleton, colorado. caller: i just want to make a comment about senator reid, and i do appreciate c-span for your open dialogue. i work for the obama campaign in so i trusted barack obama to change things in washington, d.c.

five years later, i am bitterly disappointed. i do not believe a thing senator reid says. , ihe said the sky was blue would have to go outside and check that. as far as this thing about the koch brothers and the demonization of fossil fuels through the regulation and taxation of carbon dioxide, people have got to wake up. carbon dioxide cannot cause the climate change and global warming that people contend that it does. it is not physically possible. we have got to get off of big government and get off of the demonization of private industry which pays for all of the bills, all of the infrastructure. government has no money. government only takes money from we, the people, and spreads it around as they see fit. that is fascist.

we cannot have that. ashamed of the democratic party, and i am ashamed of harry reid. we have got to get off of big government and backed to private ,ndustry and self-sustaining constitutional government. host: a comment from facebook -- registered democrat, harry reid, has been an obstructionist for years -- host: remember, you can reach out to us on facebook. new hampshire, kevin is on the line. caller: thank you for c-span. i want to say that the two male callers that previously called a right on the money. the other thing is that the american people should get

"thee and check out obama deception" for free on youtube and figure it out on your own. host: next call from missouri. democratics is a caller only, but i noticed you got about five republican calls to it so what does that mean when you say democratic calls only? second, harry reid is doing a great job. he is doing his best to try and interfere with the obstructionist republican party. he is doing a fantastic job. it is too bad they do not like him. i am thankful that he is there. thank you. host: another comment from facebook --

facebook, we are at facebook.com/cspan. another comment from facebook -- westminster, maryland, bob. .aller: good morning i just have problems with guys like reid who i think have stayed too long, and i see little difference between his soros ands, guys like a number of special interests,

so he does not come to the table with clean hands at all, as has been pointed out with this solar deal with his son. i'm disgusted with politics and find it disingenuous to hear this. callers are talking about democracy. when i went to school i understood we had a constitutional republic, not a plurality type of thing. rules, and even benjamin franklin said that we have a republic if you can keep it. those words were very important for us to remember. reid is a standard issue politician who is only in it for the interest to pay his way and his friends. i do not see any difference between him and the kochs. host: do you think harry reid has done good things in the democratic party and the senate? caller: i really do not. i think he puts hardy and politics in front of the good of the nation.

everyone i know is certainly worse off economically than they were a few years back. it is just not good. host: that is all the time we have today. thank you for being with us. please join us again tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. eastern. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> here is a look at some of our live programming today across the c-span networks. us for noon eastern when chris van hollen will talk about the campaign comes -- campaign

contributions of the american enterprise institute. that will be at noon eastern. rich larsen.y and c-span2, live with comments from james komi, director of the anti-defamation league and washington. returning after a two-week us over break. the senate devils in at 2:00 eastern. considering a number of judicial nominations. the house and also at 2:00 eastern. including a bill dealing with government spending transparency . both taken place after -- vo otes after